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The Music Man
Neil Simon Theater - May 2001
Review by John Kenrick
Oh, what a rare and sweet joy it is to return to one of your favorite
productions and find that, a full year into its run, it is better than ever!
With Eric McCormack,
The Music Man does not just have a popular TV star – they have one of
the best Harold Hill's you're ever going to see. Thanks to
Will and Grace, we all knew McCormack was an accomplished comic actor,
but it turns out this veteran of the Canadian stage has a first-rate singing
voice and stellar presence. He takes on one of the most difficult roles in the
musical theater canon with extraordinary assurance, giving us a Harold Hill that
is entirely his own. (And if you like him on TV, you're gonna go wild over him
in person.) Yes, I liked Craig Bierko, but Eric McCormack is so darned great
that he brings the entire production to a new energy level.
How else can one explain why the ensemble – most of whom are still the
original cast – have now turned numbers like "Rock Island Line" and
"Pick-a-Little" into showstoppers? Susan Stroman's brilliant direction
has been further polished and refined in ways that enrich every scene. What had
seemed quite brilliant months ago now has a brighter dazzle, leaving those in
the audience with no other choice than to scream their fool heads off!
Some new faces in the supporting cast are adding to the nightly mirthquake at
the Neil Simon. As the
indomitable Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, Ruth Gottschall performs with such
inspired lunacy that she rates a special Tony for Best Replacement Performance
of Any Recent Season! Kenneth Kimmins is a riot as her blustering husband, Mayor
Shinn. Joel Blum is perfect as Hill's sidekick Marcellus, and understudy
Martha Hawley was charming as Mrs. Paroo. Those squabbling school board members
who find themselves reconciled by barbershop harmony are still stealing scenes right
and left. Michael Duran and Bruce Dow joined original barbershop quartet
members John Sloman and Michael Leon-Wooley, knocking out pitch-perfect
notes and deft comic bits with ease.
And what words could ever express the glory of seeing the divine Rebecca
Luker thrilling audiences in a role she was born to play? She is the perfect
Marion, embodying the yearning and passion of this underestimated role as no one
else in the business today could hope to. And my oh my, when the lady sings! I
am not ashamed to tell you that the ravishing beauty of Ms. Luker's "My
White Night" and "Till There Was You" left me swimming in tears
of joy.
Aw heck, everything about this Music Man just blows me away. It shamelessly
affirms everything I love about musical theater. The heart, brains, and courage
are all there – I could sit through it a hundred more times and still beg for
more. With Eric McCormack doing such a bang-up job in the lead, this production is
still the best damn thing on Broadway today. What a pity ABC has hired Matthew Broderick
for its upcoming TV version of Music Man – there's a far better star in the
part right now.
Now if only someone would write a new musical for McCormack to come back in
next season . . .
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